Burglar alarm



Oct. 12, 1954 J. w. OWEN 2,691,357 BURGLAR ALARM Filed Sept. 29, 1952 Fig.

Fig. 3 4 5 Fig. 2

John W. Owen INVEN TOR.

WWW M,

Patented Oct. 12, 1954 2 UNITED- STATES BURGLAR, ALARM John W. Owen, Vernon, Tex. Application September 29, 1952, Serial No. 312,097

3 Claims. (01. 116.-86)

The presentinvention relates tonew and useful :iimprovements inburgla'r "alarms and more particularly 'to a portable device of this charac-' ter which is held inactive by a door, when the latter is in closed position, and which is released by an opening movement of the door to sound the alarm.

An important object of the invention is to provide a spring-actuated bell having novel means for holding the clapper of the bell inactive and positioned between a door and door jamb to release the clapper upon an opening movement of the door.

A further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being, had to the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view with the bell removed;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a modified construction with parts broken away and shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and first with respect to the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, the numeral 5 designates a spring-actuated bell and which includes a base 6 having an upstanding central post I to which the gong 8 of the bell is removably secured by a screw or other fastener 9. The lower edge of the gong 8 is spaced from the base 6 to provide a circumferential opening or slot I therebetween.

The clapper II for the bell is pivoted to the base 6 by means of a pin I2 and the spring-actuated mechanism for the clapper is designated generally at I3.

The clapper I I is locked in an inactive position by means of a bellcrank lever I 4 which is pivoted at the junction of its legs I and I6 by means of a pin I1 rising from the base 6. The outer end of arm I5 is engageable behind the free end of the clapper II while the arm I6 of the bellcrank lever extends radially outwardly 2 through the slot I0.- A coil spring I8 is attached to the arm I6 to pull the arm-in adirectio'nto release arm I5 from the clapper -I I-,-"as'shown=by-- dotted lines in Figure 2 of the drawings.

A stationary arm I9 is attached to and extends radially from base 6 and provides a stop for arm I6 of the bellcrank lever to prevent swinging of the arm l5 beyond its locking engagement with the clapper II.

In the operation of the device the bell 5 is adapted to be placed on a floor adjacent the swinging edge of a door 2| and arm I6 of hellcrank lever I I is moved against the stationary arm I9 and the arms I6 and I9 are then positioned between the swinging edge of the door and the door lamb 2|, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The door 2I thus holds the arm I 6 and arm I5 in a position for locking engagement with the clapper II to thus hold the latter inactive and upon an opening movement of the door the arm I6 is released to thus swing arm I5 clear of the clapper, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 2 and the clapper is then free to function in the usual manner for sounding an alarm.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings, the rear end of the clapper 22 is provided with an extension 23 which is engaged by a cam lobe 24 fixed to the pivoted end 25 of an arm 26 which projects radially outwardly at one side of the bell 21. The outer end of arm 26 is movable against a radially projecting stationary arm 28 when the arm 26 is in position for locking the cam 24 against the extension 23 of the clapper.

A coil spring 29 is attached to arm 26 to release the cam 24 from the extension 23 of the clapper by swinging the lobe 24 of the cam away from the extension 23 and to provide sufficient clearance between the extension and the flat side 30 of the cam to enable the clapper to function in the usual manner.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A portable burglar alarm comprising in combination, a bell adapted for placing on a supporting structure adjacent a closure and including a spring actuated clapper, a spring biased arm pivoted to the bell and projecting radially outwardly therefrom, and a cam at the inner end of the arm and movable into and out of locking engagement with the clapper, said arm being adapted for engagement by the closure to hold the arm in locking position when the closure is in closed position and released by the closure when the latter is opened.

2. A portable burglar alarm comprising in combination, a bell adapted for placing on a supporting structure adjacent a closure and including a spring actuated clapper, a spring biased arm pivoted to the bell and lockably engaging the clapper to hold the clapper inactive, said arm projecting radially outwardly from the bell and adapted for engagement by the closure to hold the arm in looking position, and, a stationary stop arm projecting radially from the bell and limiting locking movement of the first named arm after the latter reaches its locking position.

3. A portable burglar alarm comprising in combination, a bell adapted for placing on a floor adjacent a door and including a spring actuated clapper, and means locking the clapper inactive and including a clapper locking arm projecting radially outwardly from the bell and adapted for placing between the free edge of the door and an adjacent door jamb to hold the arm in looking position when the door is closed and. released upon an opening movement of the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 772,150 Jenks Oct. 11, 1904 1,265,504 Pepein May 7, 1918 1,558,687 Loar Oct. 2'7, 1925 1,701,494 Burdean Feb. 12, 1929 1,859,345 Schantz May 24, 1932 

